JOHN Paul Getty III’s harrowing first-hand account of being snatched from the streets of Rome by the Calabrian mafia has been revealed in a new book.

John Paul Getty III was snatched from the streets of Rome by the Calabrian mafia

The full story of his kidnapping that shook America in 1973 is told by British director Sir Ridley Scott in his acclaimed new movie All The Money In The World that opened in Britain yesterday.

However, John Paul’s story in his own words will also be revealed in a book Kidnapped – set to be released on January 9 – after the oil tycoon's heir told author Charles Fox of his horrific experiences before his death in 2011.

Initially Mr Getty’s tightfisted grandfather refused to pay a huge ransom until the richest man in the world was sent his son’s severed ear.

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Speaking of the moments after he had his ear cut off, John Paul Getty III said: “So much blood and gooeyness, it was in my hair, all over my body, down my back.

“If I touched my ear the bleeding started again. The bandage, my body, the bed, everything was completely red. There were rats eating the blood and on my bandages.

“The bleeding stopped after about a day and a half when they gave me a coagulant shot. By the third day, I was sure I was going to die. However, on that day I started to eat.

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Jean Paul Getty was the richest man in the world

“For what seemed like an age, nothing happened (the letter containing the ear and a threat that other body parts would follow took 28 days to arrive because of an Italian postal strike).

"Finally, on December 10, they came and said, ‘We spoke to them. We’ve come to an agreement’.

"My family had agreed to pay 1.6 billion lire in small, used notes."

Ridley Scott's film shows how the senior Getty repeatedly refused to pay the kidnappers and, even after his grandson had been tortured, the oil tycoon still would not pay the £12.5million ($17million) ransom.